The Oddball Month
by tasha221bincamelot
Summary: Three weeks after the Lady Elspeth arrives in Camelot, Arthur wakes up to find that Camelot has been turned upside down, and that he is married to someone he wouldn't imagine of marrying.
1. Chapter 1

Part One

Arthur groggily woke up to hear birds chirping outside. He was clammy and ached in places. Blinking the few remains of sleep away, he found himself to be in an unexpected area. Merlin's room. Instantly Arthur thought that he must have been taken unwell recently and Merlin was sacrificing his bed for Arthur, allowing Gaius to quickly heal Arthur to return to normal standards.

'Gaius?'

Instead of Gaius attending to Arthur's call, he was attended by another.

'Father?'

'Arthur, how are you feeling?'

'I ache, but I could be worse.'

'Well, you seem fairer than you were a few days ago. I've made a remedy for you which is sitting on the table along with your breakfast. I suppose you are hungry?'

'Yes. I could eat a horse!'

'Good. It's nice to know you'll be joining me then for breakfast.'

Listening away to Uther, Arthur felt something; or rather some people were missing.

'Hold on a minute! You made the remedy? Where's Gaius?'

'You mean King Gaius? I suppose he is being attended to this morning by his manservant as usual. You'll see him later in the throne room.'

'King Gaius? When did Gaius become a king?'

'He's been a king for at least 20 years. Have you lost your head?'

'I think it's everyone else who's lost their head. And where is my idiot of a manservant?'

'You don't have a manservant.'

'Where's Merlin?'

'Upstairs in his chambers. Where you should be right now.'

'Right, because I'm the prince.'

'No, you're his royal highnesses manservant.'

'You've definitely lost your head.'

'You'll lose your head if you don't hurry up!'

Remaining silent because he was sure that his father had gone crazy, Arthur left Merlin's actual room and dined at the physician's table. Breakfast was served in the form of gruel, which Arthur thought rather fowl. Leaving his own breakfast half-eaten, he rushed across the castle to his own chambers, where he found Merlin sleeping in his bed.

Merlin's supposed chambers were messy with discarded clothing and the bed linen half-draping off the bed, Merlin slightly snoring in Arthur's bed.

An amusing thought came to Arthur's head. For the many years he had been awoken by Merlin, he thought he would give Merlin a taste of his own medicine. Arthur strode over to the curtains and on the count of three he drew them apart.

'Rise and shine!'

'Mmph, where's breakfast?'

'Get your own breakfast. You're the one who should be serving me.'

Climbing out of bed moaning, Merlin strode up to Arthur and grabbed him by the shoulders, a warm smile forming.

'Same old Arthur,' and then Merlin leaned in and kissed him, Arthur looking mortified. 'Morning gorgeous.'

'Merlin? In what worlds do you think you're doing?'

'Greeting my beautiful lover.'

'Lover?'

'Yes Arthur.'

'Lover?'

'You are married.'

That was news to Arthur, who since waking up hadn't had a proper look at himself. Noticing the gold ring on his marriage finger, he traced the gold ring with his other forefinger.

'I got married?'

'Just over two weeks ago we were wed.'

'We? I thought I married Guinevere?'

'Oh no, Guinevere's married, not to you though. She's married to Percival.'

'Percival? She sees nothing in him!'

'Funny enough, but they're married. I know you've been ill so I've had Mordred attend to me but are you still ill?'

'I feel fine.'

'And you don't remember anything?'

'I remember a lot. But what you're telling me is wrong. I was supposed to marry Guinevere. You are my manservant. My father is the King. Morgana's evil and I'm heir to the throne. Not the other way around.'

'Well, you must be confused. I'm the Prince and you're my manservant. Gaius is the King and you are Uther's ward, the court physician. Morgana is a maid to Lady Guinevere and everyone needs to stay away from Leon. Morgana is married to Elyan, Guinevere's brother.'

'And what about Gwaine and Lancelot?'

'Lancelot is my most trusted man and Gwaine is a very loyal knight.'

'So some things remained near enough the same then.'

'Are you dreaming?'

'No.'

'Then you are still ill. The remainder of life will be taught to you by Uther.'

'Okay.'

'Now, I have many errands for you this morning, providing you are fit to take them on. I need you to draw me a bath, polish my armour, do my laundry, muck out the stables, walk my dogs and fetch my breakfast.'

Arthur sarcastically rolled his eyes. 'Of course.'

Arthur was about to leave the chambers when he took notice of Merlin, now dressed. He barely held the resemblance of the Merlin Arthur knew. Merlin was decorated in fine clothing, his crown taking stand over Merlin's combed, flat hair. Merlin looked the part. Merlin had combed hair! This must be the end of the world. The apocalypse.

Merlin planted a kiss on Arthur's cheek as he left, Arthur leaving Merlin to attend to his duties, firstly eating a well-cooked breakfast.

Arthur wondered what a day's work would be like. He knew of how to be a prince, and would someday hopefully be a great king. But other than a manservant, what else did manservant Arthur do? During the mid-morning, Arthur was polishing armour, which was harder than it looked, when Merlin entered.

'Have you finished yet?'

'No. I still have the stables to do as well.'

'You are completely useless for a manservant aren't you? But I love you anyway.'

'I'm sorry. It's harder than it looks.'

'It can't be that hard.'

'You try doing a day's work!'

'Oh, speaking of work. I'm training with the knights later and then there's a council meeting later on towards the evening. Tomorrow the Lady Ivy will be arriving and next week the Lady Elspeth will be making another visit.'

'Another visit? She must be popular.'

'She's a good friend of King Gaius.'

'I see.'

'She came here around a month ago. She's a charmer with almost everyone. Some call her cupid.'

'Right.'

'I'll leave you to work.'

When Arthur managed to actually find some time away from Merlin, Arthur came back to the physician's quarters. Uther was brewing some remedies for various patients when Arthur took a seat nearby.

'Arthur? You're back early.'

'Father. Tell me everything I know.'

'Everything?'

'As in about me. How did I become a manservant? Where am I from? Why do I look as if I need a bath and my hair sticks up everywhere?'

'Okay. Well, you became a manservant when you saved Prince's Merlin's life a few years back. You pair were young back then, in your late teens. You hadn't long arrived here from Ealdor.'

'But Merlin's from Ealdor. I saved his village.'

'He saved yours.'

Arthur went silent and Uther continued.

'Anyway, you saved him and Gaius rewarded you with being his manservant. You pair weren't on the best of terms back then. It's only within the last month or so that your relationship with one another has drastically improved.'

Listening to Arthur and not concentrating on what was important, Uther knocked a glass bottle of the table. Arthur noticed this and his eyes flashed, holding the falling object in place, bringing it and its contents back on table, as if nothing happened.

'Arthur!'

'What did I do?'

'You know not to use that unless you really need to. You know what King Gaius is like on sorcery.'

'No I don't.'

'Sorcery is forbidden in the lands of Camelot. Has been for over two decades. Anyone caught is punished by death.'

'Am I a sorcerer?'

'Yes. You were born with magical abilities.'

'I see.'

'Now, speaking of work and abilities. I need you to deliver these to my patients.'

'Don't I get a minute rest?'

'Later Arthur.'

Working throughout the day, Arthur understood what life must be like for Merlin in the real world, and felt ashamed for being hard on his manservant. He also realised that all of his current traits must be what Merlin's traits are in reality. That Merlin is a sorcerer and has been hiding this away from practically everyone, and that Gaius must be the only one who knows about this. One thing was for sure though; he needed help on finding a way to reverse this world back into the virtual world.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

With finishing running Uther's errands, Arthur returned to the royal kitchens and fetched Merlin's dinner. Using a fond trait of Merlin's known as not knocking when entering, Arthur placed Merlin's dinner on the table. Merlin on the other hand was at his desk going over plans for a visit to try and unite Albion. Merlin also had a few more ideas in mind, some that Arthur wasn't too fond of.

'What about knocking Arthur?'

'You asked for dinner, so I brought you dinner.'

'I could have been in a very important meeting with the knights.'

'Knights?'

'Yes, my knights.'

'Who are your knights?'

'Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and William. Gwen and Morgana give us a hand at times. There are of course many to help the prince and to protect Camelot.'

'This is insane. Your not a knight. You are a manservant, and I believe right, you're also a sorcerer.'

'Are we role-playing, because otherwise I think you've been in the tavern too long.'

'I have not gone to the tavern. Now eat before it goes cold.'

Merlin sat down to eat, and waved a hand to allow Arthur to join him. 'Tomorrow we're going hunting, and then we're departing to make a visit to Wessex.

'You, hunting. You don't hunt. You moan at me for trying to hunt and stop me when I try and shoot something because it's too precious to kill.'

Both remained in silence and continued to eat. Arthur took the plates back to the kitchens, and then returned to prepare Merlin for bed. Making a fire using magic when Merlin wasn't looking, Merlin was eventually comfortable in bed. Arthur crept towards the entrance to Merlin's chambers when Merlin whispered to Arthur.

'Arthur? Aren't you going to stay tonight?'

'Stay?'

'Up until you became unwell, you always stayed in my chambers.'

'I did?'

'Yes.'

'Oh. Well, if you want me to then fine.' Arthur made his way back to Merlin's bed and quickly undressed himself, leaving his clothes in a heap on the floor and climbed into the bed next to Merlin. Having to lie in Merlin's old rickety bed was hell compared to enjoying the comfort of his own bed. No wonder Merlin seemed so peaceful, and to think that Merlin has to lie on that wretched item every night made Arthur feel rather uncomfortable. As soon as things were back to normal, Arthur will grant permission for Merlin to stay, or at least get him and Gaius comfy beds.

Merlin noticed Arthur's concerned face, which made him worry at the same time. 'Arthur love what's wrong?'

'You wouldn't understand.'

'Tell me.'

'I have reason to believe we're all enchanted. Yes we may love each other and that's fine by me, but nothing seems right and I want things the way they were.'

'What's life like for you then?'

'I'm a prince. You always said I'd be a great king even though I'm a clotpole and a dollop-head but that's not the point. You're a useless manservant because you were never trained to be one. You have a loving mother and a great guardian called Gaius. You're trustworthy and have helped to defend this land and it's you that's what's made me brilliant. You changed me for the better.'

'And who are the knights? Who is evil?'

'Lancelot, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, Mordred and Percival. William is your best friend from Ealdor. William died saving me. Morgana is my half-sister and is evil. She's a sorceress. My father forbids sorcery.'

'And what do you think about sorcery.'

'At first I thought it was evil. But I've noticed there are good sorcerers and evil ones. Yes we need to be prepared but we can't stop people from being who they are.'

'That's my thoughts exactly. If I do become king then I'd make it legal.'

'As would I.'

'Arthur. If life did change and we were in your version of reality, would I still be your manservant? Would you pronounce our marriage null and reject me for a female heir?'

'You've been too good to me Merlin, so no, you'd be a free man. I'd promote you to Court Sorcerer and advisor to me. And what is set in stone is set in stone, so no, I wouldn't change that. And if our marriage never existed, well then we'd find a way around it.' Merlin shuffled over and kissed Arthur goodnight, wrapping his arms around Arthur as they went to sleep.

* * *

During the night, Arthur heard whispers of his name being called as if someone was summoning him. Ignoring the first few, the calls grew louder. Slumbering out of bed trying not to disturb Merlin, Arthur quickly dressed and grabbed a torch as he followed the voice. The voice lead him beneath the castle grounds. Arthur called out to find The Great Dragon standing before him.

'Arthur Pendragon, of all people I should expect to see, you are near enough at the bottom of my list.'

'Why are you calling me? What have I done?'

'You've done nothing, but I believe you are concerned.'

'Yes. The castle has been turned upside down. I'm a sorcerer and manservant to Merlin of all people which is absurd. Gaius is King, Morgana is no longer evil which makes no sense and I'm married to Merlin. I need to find a way to change reality and break the enchantment.'

'There are only some things that can be changed Arthur. What is half cannot be whole.'

'Don't do riddles with me. What do you mean that two halves make a whole. Who are the two?'

'You'll soon see.'

'Any advice?'

'You and Merlin are going to need to take a quest. A spell should break the enchantment which needs to be performed by you, but performed in the waters of Meredith. As you for and Merlin, I'm afraid that cannot be unbroken.'

'But what spell?' And then The Great Dragon was off, leaving a puzzled Arthur to complete the task.


End file.
